The Andalusian defender has issued a recommendation to the Junta de Andalucía to allow professional tourism guides, accredited and enabled by the community, that they can access the Cathedral Mosque of Córdoba “without conditions or requirements of others” to the regulations that regulate their functions. This Andalusian institution refers to the additional examination that the town hall demands – and performs – to these professionals to be able to make guided visits to this World Heritage Monument, a evidence that the defender considers “an irregular practice” for understanding that it limits their professional practice, which allows them to develop their activity throughout the Andalusian territory without any other requirement.
The Mosque-Catedral of Córdoba, whose ownership the Catholic Church has been attributed, is the only monument inscribed in the General Catalog of the Andalusian Historical Heritage that unilaterally requires a specific accreditation issued by the bishopric. An exceptionality that prevents any other guide or interpreter of the heritage recognized by the Junta de Andalucía to show it to visitors, unlike what happens with the rest of the goods that make up that list. Several of these guides denounced before the defender of complaints about the conditions of access to this monument, which the entity made known to the Ministry of Tourism, Culture and Sports (now only tourism) as competent in the field of regulation of the exercise of these professionals.
The Territorial Delegation of Córdoba responded by disregarding the matter, claiming that the competencies in sanctioning matters, given the breach of the regulations that regulate the development of the activities of the tourist guides of the Andalusian community, were raised to defend visitors and not the providers of tourist services and urged them to go to other instances to make any claim. The Ombudsman, however, considers that the “inhibition of tourist authorities implies a dissent manifests to the regulatory regime” Andalusian, whose compliance it incumbent directly and urges him to intervene. “We must point out the inexcusable and inalienable responsibility to safeguard the general interest,” in this case, “the free provision of tourist services by the guides, accredited and authorized, within a specific monumental enclosure.”
In its recommendation, which is not binding, the Ombudsman considers that the accreditation test required by the Cabildo so that tourist guides can access the mosque and explain it to visitors implies “an irregular behavior give the managers of the monumental enclosure that causes an unmotivated restriction of a professional practice accredited and enabled by the tourist authority”. The entity draws attention to “the notoriety of this case”, due to the historical and patrimonial importance of the mosque within the tourist route of the city of Córdoba and recalls that the previous and unilateral exam Tourism guides ”.
The resolution of the Andalusian Ombudsman represents a support of the claims of the tourist guides that consider discrimination that are made unable Monumental Precisely, the Junta de Andalucía began an investigation into the content of these evidence in November 2023 after having been denounced by some applicants, although not on the legality of this exam.